


The Child

by ghastly7



Series: Among the Rifts [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Cute domestic Blake and Yang, Do their kids count as original characters?, Don't look too deeply into it, F/F, Fluff, because it's only fluff, only fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-17 17:04:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 18,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghastly7/pseuds/ghastly7
Summary: Yang and Blake, after the war against Salem, have a family together. Sun visits them.Cute domestic fluff that totally doesn't go deeper.These are NOT one-shots. There is a plot.





	1. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their morning routine is a little disrupted...

Yang woke up to the smell of vanilla, which had quickly become one of her favorite fragrances in the world. She slowly opened her eyes to see one of her favorite sights in the world: her wonderful, wonderful wife. Her black hair was unkempt and she didn’t have her normal makeup on, but that almost made her prettier to Yang. No facade, just Blake in her natural beauty.

Yang rubbed a hand between Blake’s fluffy cat ears with just enough force to wake her wife up. Even back at Beacon, Blake was a light sleeper. Yang guessed that growing up as a member of the White Fang meant that you didn’t get the luxury of feeling safe while you slept. The blonde was determined to make her feel safe again, and they were making a lot of progress. However, adding children into the mix kind of… reversed some of that progress.

Blake's eyes shot open as she looked at the alarm clock. “Oh my God, the kids are going to be late for school! We have to get them dressed, get some quick food going…!”

As the faunus tried to get up, Yang wrapped her arms around her wife and pulled her back down into the bed, shushing her gently through the whole motion.

“Honey, do you know what day it is?” Yang spoke softly into her spouse’s human ear.

Blake made a questioning grunt.

“It’s Saturday. The girls don’t have school today.”

“Oh…” Blake said, flushing with embarrassment.

“Which means they’re still in bed. Which means we have the whole morning to ourselves,” Yang smirked before planting a kiss on Blake's lips, and then settled into a more comfortable position on the bed. She didn’t let go of her black-haired bride through any of it.

Blake, seeming to have calmed down a bit, smiled the most genuine smile. “Well, that’s certainly something worth getting up early for.” She nuzzled her head into Yang's neck and situated herself closer to her wife's grasp.

Yang sighed in content. After the near-end-of-the-world situation that had been the fight against Salem and her minions, Yang had hoped that the world would be a happier and safer place. But that was just an optimistic dream. The White Fang was still as much of a problem as it was back then, if not worse, and on the other side of the spectrum there was still plenty of lasting prejudice against the faunus. Not to mention that the creatures of Grimm still existed and caused trouble, and new threats arrived every day. Heck, on Yang’s last mission she fought a chick who literally breathed fire dust. And people compared _Yang_ to a dragon. But… moments like this, where she could watch her wife in a state of tranquility, just… happy to be alive, those were the moments Yang lived for.

Of course, those moments never lasted when Blake’s 'mommy instincts’ kicked in.

“Maybe we should check on them, to make sure they’re okay.”

“Blake, honey, our girls are fine. You’re worrying over nothing.”

As if on cue, a resounding crash shook the entire house.

Blake and Yang looked at each other, their eyes filled with worry. Then they sprung into action, running across the house in their sleepwear and bursting into their daughters’ room.

The room was absolutely destroyed, the walls cracked and the furniture in pieces. Splinters of wood and drywall were scattered everywhere. But, to both of the worried parents’ relief, there were two unharmed faunus girls in the room. Yin was standing in the middle of the decimated room, bouncing up and down in excitement as her yellow hair bounced with her. The other girl, one year younger, was curled up in the corner of the room, looking startled as she pulled pieces of wallpaper out of her jet black hair.

Blake was the first to speak. “Yin, Moon, what happened?” she asked with a mixture of fear and annoyance in her voice.

“Mommy, look! I learned a new trick!” Yin said with unwavering enthusiasm.

_This ought to be good,_ Yang thought.

“Okay, you can show us, but let’s get you out of this room,” she said. “That means you too, Moon.”

“Can I bring my book?” Moon asked sheepishly, not bothering to bring her knees down from in front of her head.

“Of course, honey. Whatever you need,” Blake said.

Moon crawled under her bed- or what was left of it- and grabbed a book of fairy tales. She walked out of the room clutching it to her chest with her ears pressing down on her head as Yin bounded out laughing. Blake sighed, looking at the carnage that had been made of the kids’ room.

“She certainly is your daughter,” she said to Yang.

_She most certainly is,_ Yang thought with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is my first fic, and I'm open to some constructive criticism. So, I'd love to hear what you think.
> 
> Of course, not a lot has happened yet to comment on, but trust me, there will be more.
> 
> I'm going to update this fairly frequently, if not very consistently. So, keep an eye out for the next chapter in the next day or two.


	2. Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun comes to visit his old friends and adoptive nieces.

Sun was so excited. It had been quite a bit of time since he had gotten to see Blake and Yang, and he certainly was excited to see his favorite kids in the world, too. So as soon as he finished his last mission (in Mantle, where it was very cold) he decided to come visit. He called ahead first, of course. He wasn’t inconsiderate.

Sun had to say, he liked the temperature of Patch. Warm, but not Vacuo warm. It was the kind of place where people could just feel safe. Few grimm, spread-out spaces, and from the few that he talked to at the docks it seemed like the people were nice here, too. Most of them had only ever seen one other faunus before though, so his tail drew some attention.

Sun finally reached the turn onto the small road that lead to the house. He could see it from here, and it brought back good memories. Memories of Blake, Yang, Ruby and him working hour after hour on the house, cracking jokes every day. Memories of when Yang almost set it all ablaze when Blake got a little too intimate. Memories of when Weiss had what they had built bulldozed and replaced with a bigger house. Good times.

Before he knew it, he was knocking at the door, and Yang and Blake both greeted him with huge grins on their faces. As he stepped in, he noticed that they had redecorated their foyer. Then he realized that he hadn’t been there for a year and a half, so that made sense. But before he could notice anything else, he heard a child’s voice coming around a corner.

“Uncle Sun!”

“Yin! How have you-” He was cut short when something hit him square in the face and knocked him flat on his back. “Oww…”

“Uncle Sun I’m super sorry! Mommy told me I found my semblance, but I’m not very good at it yet!” Yin said, looking a little worried.

Sun propelled himself back to his feet. “No way! You found your semblance? You’ve gotta show me!” He clapped his hands together and a yellow clone of himself appeared beside him, gesturing for the child to hit it.

“Sun, no,” Blake said.

“Sun, yes!” Yang said.

Yin took a deep breath, her ears tilting in concentration, and then a yellow ball of light appeared above her yellow hair. It then shot across the room at high speeds, piercing through Sun’s semblance clone and embedding itself into the wall.

“Huh,” Sun said. “So you fire ballistic balls of light with your brain. That's… AWESOME! What a cool semblance!” Yin giggled as Sun picked her up off of her feet and spun her around in the air.

He then heard a soft noise that sounded like a cat sneezing. He looked toward the source and found the younger of the two sisters, partially hiding around a corner and holding a book tightly to her chest.

Sun set Yin back down on the ground, and crouched down to be closer to the girl’s level. “Hey, remember me?”

The ebony-haired faunus child just stared, clutching her book even tighter.

“Moon, you can come over. Uncle Sun is really nice!” Yin said to her sister in encouragement.

Moon looked at her moms as if for approval, and both nodded at her. She slowly walked her way to the guest, and then used one of her hands to clutch onto the fabric of his pants.

Sun laid down so that his back was on the ground. “Can I see what book you have there?” he asked. With a moment of reluctance, Moon yielded and let the book slip into Sun’s hand. “Advanced Dust Techniques Volume IV by Weiss Schnee. Something tells me you weren’t actually reading this,” Sun said with a smile.

Moon shook her head.

Sun sighed. “Hey, I know what might make you talk to me!” He went digging into the duffle bag he’d brought with him and took out a little book. It had a picture of a princess with a sword on the cover. “This is something I found in Mantle for you.”

Moon’s eyes practically sparkled. She grabbed the story and immediately hugged it.

Blake bent down to her daughter. “What do you say, Moon?”

Moon looked up into Sun’s eyes as if he were some sort of miracle worker. “Thank you!” she said with more enthusiasm than he had ever thought she could manage.

Sun looked at Yin and saw her pouting. He ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry kiddo, I didn’t forget about you!” He pulled a King Taijitu plushie out of his bag. “Here, to add to your collection.”

“You’re the best, Uncle Sun!” she yelled excitedly. Unfortunately, the excitement led to another ballistic light orb sailing across the room, this one ricocheting off of the walls before dispersing midair. “Sorry!”

“Okay, maybe we should move to the living room and… calm down a little bit,” Yang said, gesturing in the direction she expected them to go.

“Alright!” Sun hoisted Yin up onto his shoulders and made some motorcycle sounds. “Let’s ride!” he said before jogging into the living room to the delighted shrieks of his passenger.

Moon walked slowly back to Blake to take her mother's hand before letting herself be led into the living room. Yang followed behind, bending down to collect the abandoned dust book on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss is simultaneously an awesome and terrible friend.
> 
> So, constructive criticism is always welcome, as is grammar and mechanics help. English is my first language, so I don't have an excuse other than the fact that I am human and flawed.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and expect the next chapter very soon.


	3. Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun, Blake, and Yang talk in the living room about plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one's kind of short. The next few should be longer.  
> But hey, this is the third chapter I've uploaded in 24 hours. I think it's okay that it's short.

“You see, I understand  _ why  _ you had children, I’m just not getting the  _ how _ ,” Sun said, laying across a couch and feeding himself bacon.

Blake’s face went red and Yang stopped eating for a moment. “We’ll talk later. Now’s not exactly the best time to discuss that,” the blond said, gesturing her head to the young child sitting at her right. Yin, the child in question, didn’t seem to notice that anything was wrong, and continued eating her cereal.

“Anyways… umm…” Blake said, desperate to change the subject but not sure what to change it to.

“Mommy?” Moon asked, a welcome distraction. “Is Uncle Sun going to go to my play?”

“What’s this about a play?” Sun asked, adjusting himself to sit down like a normal person.

Yang’s eyes practically sparkled. “She got a role in her school’s play! I’m so proud of you, baby girl!” she said, hugging her child tight.

Blake chimed in. “She’s practiced for weeks. We’re super excited!” Her face glowed with pride.

“Sooo, can I come?” Sun asked.

“Absolutely,” Blake said, placing Moon on her lap. “We’ll just need to pay for your ticket.”

“Nah, you don’t need to do that. I’ve got it covered!”

“Sun, I insist, seriously.”

“Blake, don’t worry about it. I’ll happily pay for it.”

“Sun, it’s our daughter’s play, so we get to pay for it. That’s final.”

“No, that’s not final. I said I’d take care of it, and I will!”

“Guys,” Yang cut in. “You realize you’re fighting over, like, three lien right?”

Both faunus relaxed. “I’ll pay for it, Blake,” Sun said.

“Okay fine, but I’m paying for your ice cream afterwards.”

“Deal.” The two shook hands with smiles on their faces, then Sun returned to his couch. “So when is it?”

“Tomorrow,” Blake said. “Which reminds me: you two need to go to school! Come on, I’ll drive you.”

Yin pouted. “But-”

Yang put a hand on her daughter’s head, between her faunus ears. “You can talk more with Uncle Sun when you get back. Don’t worry: I’ll make sure he stays.”

“Whoa, did  _ the  _ Yang Xiao Long just threaten me? I feel so honored!” Sun grinned.

Yin, convinced that Sun would still be there when she got back, skipped her way to the garage. Moon hesitated for a moment, and then ran to the car, new book in hand. Blake chuckled a little, then got into the driver’s seat.

“So, about that question you asked earlier,” Yang said with the most suspicious smirk on her face.

Sun suddenly wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Sun, why do you ask questions you don't want to know the answers to?
> 
> I welcome your constructive criticism. I RELISH in it!


	4. Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Sun grill some burgers.

Blake sat out on the porch reading while the delicious smell of cooking meat came from Sun and Yang, who were working together to grill some burgers. Well, it was more like Yang grilled the burgers and Sun repeatedly burned himself. Thank God for aura, though.

Blake looked up from her book and saw Sun hanging upside-down by his tail from the drain pipe.

“What are you doing?”

“Takin’ a break,” Sun said, pulling a banana from who-knows-where and peeling it open.

“Well, could you not take a break on the gutter? It’s still recuperating from the last time you did that.”

Realization flashed in Sun’s eyes. “Fair point,” he said, climbing back down.

“Don’t worry about it too much, though. I guarantee that Yang has done way more damage to this house than you could ever do,” Blake commented.

“That’s true!” Yang said without looking away from her burgers.

“Though Yin’s little  _ event _ on Saturday certainly gives her a run for her money,” the black-haired faunus continued.

“Hey, if you want me to break some more stuff I will. I  _ will _ win the breaking stuff competition.”

“Please don’t. I happen to like this porch,” Blake stood up and gave Yang a kiss on the jawline. “I think you’ve made enough burgers. The kids'll be back soon, and I feel like I’ve hardly gotten to spend any time with you.” She turned her wife away from the grill to face her and wrapped her arms loosely around her sunny dragon’s waist.

“That’s unacceptable. We should see to that right away,” Yang said with a smile, leaning in to kiss her wife’s lips.

“Uh, guys? I’m still here you know.”

“Oh! Sun!” Blake quickly pulled away, to her wife’s dismay. “Sorry, I kind of got lost in the moment.”

“It’s fine! It’s certainly a good moment to get lost in. I understand completely.”

“Well, I don’t mind you stopping us,” Yang said. “Besides, I’ll make sure we have another one of those 'moments’ tonight!”

“Oh God, I don’t need to know about this!” Sun pleaded.

The two lovers giggled a little bit, then sat down across the picnic table from where Sun had.

“Hey,” Yang said to him, “I wanted to thank you for getting gifts for the girls. It was above and beyond what we had expected of you, and I wanted you to know that we appreciated it. All of us.” She placed her hand gently over Blake's.

“What, you thought I only got gifts for them?” Sun said, grinning and reaching for his bag. “Everyone deserves a Sun gift!”

“You didn’t!” Blake grinned, playfully slapping Sun’s arm as he dug in his duffel.

“I did!” Sun smirked as he pulled out a black book with a simple picture engraved into it in gold foil. He cleared his throat and started reading the back. “A kingdom is on the verge of collapse, both from the angered citizens and the monsters outside of its walls. But a powerful dragon makes an intriguing deal with the kingdom’s queen, one that may save her people, or doom them to a cruel death.”

“Ooo, that sounds very good. Thank you Sun!” Blake said, a smile on her face as she accepted the book.

“And then for you, Yang, I found… this!” He pulled out a CD case from his bag.

Yang gasped. “Is that the new Achieve Men album?!” She snatched it out of Sun’s hands with zero hesitation. “How did you manage to find the extended edition?! It has a song featuring Jet Williams, and a fun house remix of one of their other songs! You are a god amongst men!” And she practically jumped over the table to give him a tight bear hug.

“Yang, you’re hurting me…” Sun managed to choke out.

“Yeah, such is the power of her hugs,” Blake smirked at the other faunus’s misfortune. “Okay honey, I think he’s had enough.”

As Yang sat back down, the pitter-patter of tiny feet came running into the house.

“There they are! I’ll go get them out here,” Blake said, standing up.

“No! Don’t leave me with the hug monster!” Sun joked.

Blake smirked. “Yang, save your hugs for me. I’m used to them by now.”

As her wife walked into the house, Yang just nodded, completely transfixed on her new gift. “I just can’t believe that you found this in Mantle of all places…” then her head shot up as if she had just remembered something that she had forgotten. “Huh, this entire time we’ve been talking about our family, but neither of us have asked you how your mission went.”

Sun shifted in his seat. “It… did not go according to plan.”

Yang smirked. “When do they ever?”

“My job was to take care of one particular Grimm just outside the city. I thought, 'this sounds easy, even a large Grimm isn’t too difficult when it’s alone.’ But when so many people have been scared of one particular creature of Grimm…”

“Other Grimm start flocking towards it. Makes sense.”

Sun continued. “So I eventually cleared out all of the smaller Grimm, but that left the target. This was when I finally got a good look at it. You know what a millipede looks like? Think of a Grimm millipede that is 50 times the size of a person and extremely bloodthirsty.”

“Yikes.” Yang leaned into her elbow.

“Yikes is right. It had a hard shell, too. About as hard as a deathstalker. But its legs weren’t armored at all. So I just took them out one by one and Bam! You have a Grimm unable to move far enough to eat anything. So I considered it a kill and headed back to Mantle.”

“But it wasn’t that simple, was it?”

“No, but the rest of the problems weren’t from the Grimm. The big complication happened when the White Fang showed up.”

The two kids ran out of the house and tackle-hugged Sun. Blake walked out after them.

Yang mouthed the words, 'we’ll talk later’ before kissing her wife as she sat down.

“So, how was your day?” Sun asked the kids.

“I had a good day," Yin said, "but Mrs. Stone started acting really weird after I showed the class my semblance.”

The loudest silence of all time followed that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Rooster Teeth references.
> 
> You know, I was considering not posting another chapter today, but I'm just too excited about this piece to stop.
> 
> As always, kind criticism is welcome, as are the kind words that you guys have been blessing me with. You guys rock!
> 
> Even you, Jim.
> 
> Wait, never mind. Not you, Jim.


	5. Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun wakes up in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Morning usually follows Night, but this time there were three chapters in between them!
> 
> Sorry, bad joke. Enjoy!

Sun woke up when his nose started bleeding.

“Oh, come on,” he whispered to himself. It felt like he had  _ just  _ gotten acclimated to the altitude of Mantle, and now he had to get adjusted back to good ol’ sea level. Great.

He leapt out of bed as fast as he could and ran to the tissue box near his open door, solving the problem before he could make a mess. He looked into the hallway, but it wasn’t very redeeming. Even for a faunus it was extremely dark out there. So he kind of stared into the blackness for a moment.

Then two glowing, orange eyes appeared in front of him.

“Holy sh-” Blake covered his mouth before he could finish.

“Hi,” she said. “Keep it PG, please.”

“Sorry, you startled me. You’re kind of terrifying when you can only see your eyes.”

Blake's eyes landed on the tissue plugging Sun’s nose. “What happened?”

“Just a bloody nose from the altitude change. Why are you up?”

Blake, seeming to think that this would be a long conversation, leaned her weight onto the doorframe. “Yang had one of her nightmares again.”

“The ones from the Fall of Beacon?”

“Yeah. She gets them occasionally, especially when she has her prosthetic off. And she just starts... shaking, and can’t stop. Usually we hug and talk about it, but sometimes she just needs to be alone, so I go and sleep in one of the guest rooms for the night.”

“I wonder why she still has those? I thought all of the Salem stuff was resolved.”

“It  _ is _ resolved, it’s just… I thought that it would go away too, but it’s just not that simple. Those feelings just don’t go away. She went through more that day than most of us did.”

“But is it at least getting better?”

Blake nodded. “I think the kids are helping. They give her something to think about.”

“Yeah, you guys’ kids are awesome.”

“And so is their adoptive uncle,” Blake said, placing her hand on Sun’s shoulder. “They really like you, I want you to know that.”

“Yeah, what is there not to like?” Sun said, but when the other faunus was about to speak, he said, “Don’t answer that please.”

Blake chuckled a bit, then looked behind her into the dark hallway. “Well, I think I’m gonna go to bed after I go check on the girls.”

Sun rolled his eyes. “I guarantee that they’re fine, Blake. You worry about them too much.”

Blake twiddled her thumbs a little bit, which reminded Sun of something Ruby would have done. “I know I do… it’s just that… seeing them safe puts me at ease. There’s probably no greater satisfaction to me than seeing Yin and Moon happy and safe from the cruelty of the world.”

“As long as you and Yang are here, they’ll be safe. I know you won’t let anything hurt them.”

Blake smiled. “Thanks Sun. Do you need anything for your nose?”

“Nah, I’ve just gotta wait it out. I hope I didn’t bleed on anything…”

Then, Yang’s voice rung across the halls in a falsified British accent. “I also hope you didn’t, because that would be  _ bloody  _ terrible!”

Blake sighed. “Okay, you try to get back to sleep. I need to go kill my wife.”

“Have fun!” Sun said, heading back to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I had an idea.
> 
> What if, instead of learning about Team STRQ through backstories and flashbacks...
> 
> ...they got their own Rooster Teeth mini-series?
> 
> Comment if you think that's a good idea, or if you have anything to say about the actual chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some games after the play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big fan of this chapter. A lot more stuff happens in it than the previous five chapters, and also Yang is a cheater.

The play was awesome. It really was. But only because Moon was there. The other kids… tried their best, but whenever Moon was on stage she stole the show. That wasn’t even a 'Yang is so proud of her daughter’ moment. Yang was legitimately blown away by the theatrical skill that this small child possessed. She could see that Blake and Sun were too, though Yin didn’t really seem to understand the play very well. Oh well, Yang would explain it to her later, unless if Blake did it first.

But first, ice cream. Blake drove the five of them to the family’s favorite mom & pop ice cream parlor, which happened to be right next to a very nice field that many people in Patch used as an unofficial park. It was still light out after the play, so they thought that they could play with the kids there for a little bit.

“Sweetie, I just want you to know that I love you, and that there will be no hard feelings when I absolutely CRUSH you at hide-and-seek!” Yang said, tickling Yin and eliciting some shrieks of delight.

“What, you don’t think I can stay hidden from you? Challenge accepted,” said Sun, licking the cone of ice cream that had been bought for him.

“I’m gonna beat you Momma! And there’s nothing you can do about it!” Yin said.

Moon, the only person playing who  _ didn’t  _ have bright yellow, easily noticeable hair, stayed silent.

“You sure you don’t want to play?” Sun asked Blake, who was setting down a picnic blanket that had been in the trunk of the car.

“No, I want to finish up this book so that I can start yours,” she responded. “Plus, last time I played hide-and-seek with them I hid so well that they forgot about me.”

“It was only for a couple of hours!” Yang said in defense. “Come on, Sun. Get hiding!”

“Okay, see ya’, Blake!” Sun said, running into the forest with the two kids, all with ice cream in hand.

“1...2...3...4...10! Ready or not, here I come!” Yang said.

“Why do you never count fairly?” Blake asked.

“I did count fairly, and you’ll attest to that,” Yang responded.

“Oh will I?” Blake said with a smirk without her eyes leaving her book.

“Maybe later, though. I have two children and one overgrown child to find.”

“Have fun!” Blake waved to her wife.

___

 

Yang knew exactly where to look for Sun: up. There was no chance that he wouldn’t be in a tree. And, within about 2 minutes, she found him, crunching on an empty waffle cone and hanging off of a tree branch by his tail.

“You’re not very good at this, you know.”

Sun frowned. “At least you can’t say that I’m not trying!”

Yang chuckled. “No I can’t. Come on, let’s go look for the other two.”

___

 

Yin was harder to find. Though quite bright and obvious, she was also small and could fit into places they couldn’t. So the search for her took a while. But Sun finally found her, hiding high in the branches of a tree.

Yang called to her. “Hey Yin! I found you! You were pretty hard to…” but she trailed off when she saw her daughter’s ears pressed against her head. “Honey, are you stuck?”

Yin just nodded, refusing to let go of the trunk.

“Sun, do you think you could help her down?”

“Already on it,” he said, climbing up quickly. “Hey Yin, do you think you can grab onto me?”

Yin shook her head without opening her eyes.

“Hey, look at me,” Sun said.

The girl complied.

“You’re gonna be fine. Grab onto me.”

Yin hesitantly pried herself away from the tree and wrapped her arms around Sun’s neck. There were tears in the corners of her eyes.

“It’s okay, honey, I’m right down here,” Yang yelled out.

Then Yin looked down, and started crying.

“You’re gonna be fine, Yin. I’ve gotcha’,” Sun said, beginning his slow descent.

Or it was slow, until a branch snapped underneath his foot.

The two started falling, until Sun caught himself with a grunt. But it was enough to startle Yin into activating her semblance. The orb crashed into the bottom of the tree trunk and the entire tree started to tip.

“Oh, God!” Sun yelled, before leaping off of the falling tree and landing hard on his back. Yin was okay at least.

“Yin! Sun! Are you okay?!” Yang said, running over to them.

With a groan, Sun responded, “She’s fine. Cats are known for landing on their feet. Monkeys, on the other hand…”

Yin looked up at him and clutched him tighter. “Thank you, Uncle Sun.”

“It’s no problem. Just… no more trees for you, okay?”

Yin giggled. “Okay, Uncle Sun.”

Yang scooped her child up into her arms. “Okay, let’s go find that sister of yours.”

___

 

The search for Moon was… more difficult. Very much so. The three even enlisted the help of Blake, but still couldn’t find her.

In the end, it was her ice cream cone that gave her away. Yang was glad that her youngest daughter had chosen cherry, because it stood out from her surroundings just enough to pick her out. She was sitting with her back against a tree, enjoying her ice cream while trying to stay hidden.

“There she is,” Blake said.

But just as she was about to announce their presence, Yang stopped her. Moon was facing away from them, and it was the perfect opportunity to startle her. Yang tiptoed behind her as quietly as she could, closer, closer, closer… and then she grabbed Moon’s shoulders and went, “Boo!”

And Moon’s ice cream went splat on the ground.

She stared down at it for a while. Then her little shoulders started trembling and Yang could hear her sniffling.

“Honey, I’m so sorry!” The blonde said, but the only response was a whimpering noise. Yang gave a pleading look to Blake, and was given a pitying smile in return.

“It’s okay, Moon. We’ll get you a new one!” Blake said, picking her youngest child up. “And this time I won’t let Momma make you dump it on the ground!”

Yang stuck her tongue out at Blake, who returned the same gesture.

“Hey Uncle Sun, while they’re gone, can you help me learn my semblance?” Yin asked with a sparkle in her eye, clearly having emotionally recovered from the tree incident.

Sun looked to Blake and Yang, “Would that be okay?”

Blake slowly nodded. “Just don’t wander out too far. These woods are pretty easy to get lost in.”

Sun mocked a salute, and the couple left with Moon.

But not before Yang yelled back to them, “And no more trees! That  _ wood  _ make me very upset!”

She could even see Sun’s facepalm from across the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are not ready.


	7. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...

“Okay Yin, concentrate. Concentrate on hitting me in the chest,” Sun said, before immediately correcting himself. “The fake me, not the real me.”

Yin closed her eyes and shook her fists in front of her. Nothing happened.

“Aww, now I can’t do it anymore!”

“Don’t sweat it, Yin. This’ll take some time. Mine took a year or two before I could actually control it. Your Aunt Ruby’s took longer, I think.”

“But I want to learn how to do it now! I’m already getting so good at it!”

Sun smiled. “It’s all about practice. You’ll get it, I’m sure you will.”

Then he stopped. He heard rustling from the trees around them. And if several years of being a huntsman had taught him anything, he _knew_ it wasn’t human.

“Yin, get behind me.”

“What?”

“Please, just get behind me.”

Yin must’ve noticed that he had meant it this time, because she did what he said without another word.

His hand hovered over his folded staff…

And the rustling stopped.

He relaxed. _It was probably a deer,_ he thought. Yang had told him how many deer there were around this area. _False alarm._

A figure lurched at Sun from behind a tree.

He barely had time to get his folded staff in front of him to block the blade that was aimed at his neck. He pushed the assailant back and unfolded his staff. Then he finally processed what was attacking him.

It looked like one of the robots that the SDC used to use on its cargo trains, or like one of the original Atlesian Knights, but… modified. It still had the bladed hands, but this one’s chest looked different than the ones he had seen when he had stowed away on Schnee trains in the past. And this one was way faster than Sun thought would ever be useful in an enclosed area like a train.

Sun’s staff blocked a slash from both of the bot's arms at once.

“Yin, run.”

“But-”

“Yin, I’ve got this. Get out of here.”

Yin looked from Sun to the robot, then back to Sun. Then she ran into the forest.

 _Phew,_ Sun thought. _One less thing to worry about._

He blocked another slash, and this time he decided to retaliate. He slammed his staff into the robot’s head as hard as he could. The staff rattled at the impact, and it hurt his arms like hell. And it seemed not to have much more of an impact than that.

_What the hell? Blake told me that she used to cut through these things like butter. This isn’t a normal bot._

His thought was interrupted by the robot attempting to jab a blade through his face. He easily sidestepped it, but it left him vulnerable to the other blade. His aura took a slice.

_Can’t take too many more of those. Time to change strategy._

With a flip of a switch, his staff broke into two nunchucks. He started spinning them and blocked three blade strikes with them. He then shot a shotgun blast directly in his enemy’s face.

It got a few tiny dents in it.

So Sun spun his nunchucks around and fired shot after shot after shot after shot. The metal monstrosity’s face caved in more and more, until it finally blew off.

Sun breathed a sigh of relief. That was over with.

But the body of the robot still stood. The chest of the robot, the part that had looked so different, burst open. A new head, identical to the first, rotated out of the chest cavity and took its place on the robot’s shoulders.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be f-”

He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before the robot launched towards him. He narrowly dodged several slices as he spun his nunchucks back up. And as soon as he could, he pulled the trigger.

_click._

_“_ Shit.”

The robot stabbed both of its blades into the aura around his torso, sending him flying backwards into a tree and leaving his aura fizzling out of existence.

Sun tried to struggle to his feet, to no avail. The robot approached with a blade ready to strike.

But a ballistic ball of light hit it in the head with so much force that it went stumbling backwards.

Sun looked behind him and saw the one who cast it. “Yin, I thought I told you to leave!”

Yin looked guilty and scared.

“Okay, whatever!” Sun struggled onto his feet. “Just stay behind me.”

The robot’s face had caved in from the impact of the orb, and for lack of a better word it looked… dazed. It looked from Sun to Yin over and over while it wobbled on its robotic legs. Then, it seemed to figure out what it was doing. It charged.

Sun formed his staff and swung at the assailant as it approached, but it ducked under the strike and headed straight for…

“Yin, watch out!”

But she was already frozen in fear. The robot retracted its blades and grabbed her.

“No, YIN!”

And then some sort of blue and black rift opened up, and they were gone.

___

 

Blake, Yang and Moon returned to the sight of Sun on his knees, staring at nothing.

“Yo, Sun, you okay?” Yang asked, but he didn’t react at all.

Blake kneeled next to Sun and touched his shoulder. He jumped at the contact.

“Hey, is everything alright?” the black-haired faunus asked.

He looked at her with… tears in his eyes. “Blake, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop it… I… couldn’t…”

“Sun, where is Yin?” Blake asked, but Sun seemed to choke on his words. She shook him. Hard. “SUN, WHERE IS YIN?!”

Sun took a few, shaky breaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how 'bout them volume three-esque tone shifts?


	8. After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn't something you can just recover from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't believe the tags. They'll lie to ya'.

Blake had hoped that it was some sort of a cruel joke. That Sun and Yin were conspiring against them to make them scared over nothing.

That was not the case.

“Okay, I’ve called your old nanny and she’s going to take care of you while we’re gone. Don’t forget where the food is. There’s some lien hidden under the sink if you need it for anything important, but don’t use it if it isn’t an absolute emergency. The fire extinguisher…”

All of this sage advice from Blake while she was packing was nearly drowned out by the sound of Yang punching through walls downstairs and screaming in anger.

“Moon, we love you and please stay safe and oh my God I don’t know what I would do if I lost you too so don’t you dare get into any trouble because I’ll know and I just can’t lose both of you so please don’t go anywhere and I love you so so much and please stay safe… please stay safe…”

“Mommy, you’re crying,” Moon finally spoke up.

Blake sniffled and tried to fake a smile. “That’s just because I’m worried, sweetie. Mommy’s really, really worried.”

“Mommy, is Yin going to be okay?”

Blake very nearly broke down after hearing that question.  _ Stay strong Blake. For her, if not for yourself. _

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure she is.”

Yang slowly opened the door to the room. Her eyes were lilac, not red, which meant that her anger had faded away. She just walked to Blake, grabbed her tight, and started bawling into her shoulder. Blake clutched onto the back of her shirt and tried to be strong.

“Momma, you’re crying too,” Moon observed.

Yang didn’t respond to this, other than by sobbing louder than before. Blake couldn’t stop herself now. She cried so hard, pulling Moon into the embrace as if to keep the rest of her fractured family close.

___

 

Sun was at the front door, with his duffel bag packed.

“I’m coming with you,” he said.

“The hell you are!” Yang yelled in his face.

But he didn’t back down. “I  _ lost _ Yin. I couldn’t stop that robot from getting her. That’s on me, and that will haunt me forever until I know that she’s okay. So I’m coming, because I  _ won’t  _ fail her again. And even if you say no, there’s nothing in this fucking world you could say to me that would keep me from following you. You get that?!”

Yang was about to retaliate, but Blake placed the blonde’s left hand gently in her own hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Sun.”

Yang huffed for a second, then looked at him. “Thanks.”

Sun nodded with a determined look in his eye. “I know that the robot looked like an Atlesian robot of some kind, but that’s all I know. We need to figure out more about it to know where it came from.”

“So, let’s do a little digging,” Blake said, squeezing her wife’s hand again.

Yang’s gaze dropped. “Yeah… yeah, okay. I just need a minute.” She released her wife’s grasp and brought her prosthetic arm up to her forehead as she left the foyer.

“Is she going to be okay?” Sun asked.

“No, not until we get our daughter back.”

___

 

Blake decided to look up sightings of similar robots online, and had recently left for another room. Sun stayed in the foyer, and took out his scroll, deciding who he could call.

The call came to him, in fact.

_ ring, ring _

Sun looked at the caller ID, then answered.

“Hey Neptune.”

“ _ Hey, Sun! It’s been a while! How was Mantle? _ ”

“Um… it was cold.”

“ _ Yeah, yeah. Good to hear. Hey, I have a weird question for you. _ ”

Sun sighed. “Fire away.”

“ _ Did you… I dunno… happen to get attacked by a teleporting robot by any chance? _ ”

Sun gasped. “Wait, you got attacked too?”

“ _ Yeah, all three of us, actually. Once we pulled together, though, we were able to take care of the three 'bots. Sage got a little banged up, but he’ll recover. _ ”

“Neptune, this is very important: do you have any of the robot bodies?”

“ _ Hmm, two of them are pretty much obliterated, but I was able to fry one of them from the inside out. Would that work? _ ”

Sun was already running through the house. He burst into the room Blake was working in.

“Sun?” she said, confused at his happy expression.

“We’re going to Mistral,” he responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so begins the adventure.
> 
> Sorry that the first six chapters were to lull you into a false sense of security, but it was important to build an atmosphere.
> 
> Your comments make my day whenever I see them, so feel free to speak your mind. You guys are awesome, and I hope you all have a better day than the one Blake and Yang are having.


	9. Meetup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun, Blake and Yang meet with the rest of team SSSN.

One of the perks of being a huntress: the paycheck. It was a very large paycheck that allowed for large houses, fine dining, and extravagant vacations. Or, in their case, extravagant manhunts. They tipped their pilot well, and jumped off of the high-class bullhead. Okay, maybe the $500 check that each of them received from the Schnee Dust Company for every birthday in the household helped.

“I’m gonna be honest: that bullhead was almost intimidatingly comfortable,” Sun said.

“What, don’t ride bullheads like that in Vacuo?” Blake joked.

“Are you kidding me? Getting any bullhead is rare in Vacuo. It’s a frickin’ wasteland!”

“Guys,” Yang said in a subdued voice. “Can we please focus?”

The gravity of the situation seemed to fall back onto each of their shoulders.

“Sorry,” Sun said.

“It’s okay, I’m at fault too,” Blake rubbed her arm.

“So, shall we head to team SSN?” Sun asked.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Yang said, leading the group.

___

 

“What do you  _ mean _ , commandeered?!” Yang snapped at Scarlet.

“I  _ mean  _ the Mistral council showed up and nabbed the prick. Bloody infuriating, if you ask me.”

“Yeah, it’s ridiculous what the council can get away with these days,” Neptune said, entering with a variety of coffees and teas on a tray.

Scarlet grabbed his tea and a mug of coffee. “I’m gonna bring this up to our little bedridden bloke upstairs. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

As his footsteps grew quieter, Neptune gestured toward the table, where four chairs were waiting to be sat in.

“Sorry Neptune, but I don’t think we can linger for long,” Blake said.

“Of course you can. This house is made to be lingered in,” Neptune said. “Plus, no one has really explained the reason for this visit to me.”

The three guests glanced at each other with cautious expressions, and then they seated themselves.

“So,” Neptune picked up a mug of coffee and let it clink on the table.

There was silence for a moment, then Sun broke it. “So, as you’ve probably figured out, I was attacked by one of those robots.”

Neptune nodded as Scarlet reentered the room, pulled up a chair, and sat backwards in it.

“I was visiting Patch… Visiting these two and their… kids…”

Blake took a teacup and tried to help Sun. “We had just gone to one of my daughters’ play, and we went to get ice cream, and to play in the park.”

Yang silently took a coffee cup.

“So,” Sun said while debating the pros and cons of coffee over tea, and apparently deciding that it was a tea day, “after playing in the park for a little bit, these two and their youngest daughter Moon went to get some more ice cream. That just left the two of us: me and Yin.”

The sound of shattering porcelain punctuated the sentence. Everyone looked at Yang, who had crushed her coffee cup in her hand. Unfortunately, it wasn’t her robotic hand. Blood and scalding-hot coffee made a grotesque mixture dripping off of her still-closed fingers.

“Honey,” Blake said with pity in her tone. She got up and helped Yang to the bathroom as she started to clean the cuts in the sink.

Scarlet and Neptune looked back to Sun. “I think you can continue,” Scarlet said.

Sun turned the teacup around in his hands a bit, sipped it, then proceeded. “So, I’m trying to teach Yin how to use her semblance- her semblance is, basically, lethal dodgeball.”

“Mhmm,” Neptune nodded, that description apparently making perfect sense to him.

“The robot attacks me, and I tell Yin to run. But at a certain point, I’m backed against the ropes. Aura gone, robot ready to slice me to pieces… it didn’t look good. Then… that girl saves my life by hitting an amazing shot with her semblance. It collapses the face of the bot. But, I also think it scrambled its processing or something. It probably thought that Yin was me, so it went for her. And it… got away with her.”

Neptune looked at the coffee in his hands. “Oh.”

“So we’re here trying to see the body of one of those robots so that we can find where they came from,” Blake said as she and her wife returned to the room and sat back down. Yang now had a bandage wrapped around her left hand.

“I get it,” Scarlet said. “Unfortunately the Mistral council has it now and it could be bloody anywhere in the city.”

“Well, we’d better get looking then,” Yang pushed herself out of her chair.

“We’ll help in any way that we can,” Neptune said.

Sun got up, too. “I think I’m gonna go see Sage if that’s alright with everyone.”

“You go ahead. We’re going to find a place to stay in Mistral,” Blake got on her tiptoes and kissed Yang’s forehead while stroking her back. “Does that sound alright to you?”

Yang’s fists, which had been clenched since she had gotten back, slowly relaxed. “Yeah,” she said.

Neptune got out of his seat. “I’ll do a little research. Maybe another team was attacked?”

Then Scarlet pushed his chair back where it belonged. “I’ll see what I can dig up about where the Mistral council puts their evidence.”

Sun smiled. “Thanks, guys. You’re the best.”

And so, they parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang... is not okay.
> 
> So, I'm going to be making a conscious effort to only upload one chapter a day from now on. I don't want the experience to be over too quickly.
> 
> I also want to thank everyone who has kudos'ed and commented. It makes me feel really special and it means a lot to me if you guys are enjoying the story. So... I would love it if you would keep doing those things. Thanks!


	10. Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang get some help from their friends.

The next morning, Neptune called.

“What’ve you got for me, bud?” Sun asked.

“ _ Well, it’s not exactly happy news, but it’s news. Bring Yang and Blake and meet me at The Red Snapper. It’s a good place to eat, and it has good breakfast. _ ”

“We’ll be there soon.”

___

 

“Whoa, what happened to you two?” Neptune asked Blake and Yang. They had bags under their eyes, and looked pretty sickly.

“We, uh… we couldn’t sleep. I just layed with my eyes open and Yang paced all night,” Blake said.

“Are you going to be okay?” Neptune asked.

“ _ Yes! _ ” Yang snapped. “Sorry. Yes, we’ll be fine. I just can’t stop wondering if my baby girl is okay…”

Neptune nodded. “I get it. So, here’s what I found.”

He deposited several printed photographs and articles on the table.

“Wow,” Sun said. “How long have you been searching?”

“About 30 minutes. So, the summary is: team CRDL was seriously injured.”

“I kinda want to feel worse about that than I actually do,” Yang said.

“Yang!” Blake said, shoving her gently.

“What, you don’t feel the same way?”

“Well, I do but you didn’t have to say it out loud like that!”

Neptune cleared his throat to grab their attention. “Team CFVY was attacked, and Fox was killed.”

“Oh no! I liked him! He was a cool guy!” Sun said.

“Then, lastly, team NDGO, which was attacked but escaped unharmed. The thing I don’t understand is where there is any common thread linking these attacks.”

“Well,” Blake cut in, “we know that this isn’t just about team SSSN. And we have a few other options in case if we can’t get the robot from the Mistral council.”

Just that second, Neptune got a call on his scroll, which he promptly picked up.

“Yeah? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Really? How did you manage that? Because I wanna know, Scarlet! Okay, fine, we’ll be right there.” He put his scroll back in his pocket. “Okay, finish up your dishes. We’re going back to the apartment.”

His request fell on deaf ears, as both Blake and Yang had fallen asleep at the table.

___

 

As the four entered, Scarlet made a flashy, “Ta-da!” as he gestured toward the fully-intact robot corpse that was propped against the wall.

“How did you…?” Blake was at a loss for words.

“I was owed several favors. I’m  _ still  _ owed several favors.”

Yang didn’t say a single word. She just sprinted at Scarlet and tackled him into a hug. Unfortunately, he was not prepared, and they went tumbling to the ground. But they laughed. It was the first time that Yang had looked happy since Yin had been taken.

“Um, not to spoil the mood, but does anyone actually know how to take this thing apart without, y’know…  _ breaking _ it apart?” Neptune asked.

“Well,” Yang said. “I’ve lived with  _ this  _ for several years,” she took her robotic arm off and gestured with it. “I should hope that I would know how to manage it!”

___

 

The person on the other side of the line went silent.

“So yeah,” Blake said into the scroll. “That’s what we’ve been going through.”

“ _Blake, I’m so sorry. That’s horrible!_ _No one should have to go through that!_ ”

“Yeah, well, isn’t that just the definition of being a huntress.”

“ _ What can I do to help? Do you need resources or anything? God knows I have enough to spare. _ ”

“Thanks, Weiss, but that’s not what we need right now.”

“ _ Then what can I do? _ ” Weiss asked.

Sun entered the room. “Hey, Yang says she’s ready.”

“ _ Sun? Is that Sun? _ ”

“Yeah, it is. I’m gonna put you on speaker phone and we’re gonna go talk with Yang.”

A few moments later, and they were in a room absolutely covered in machine parts, all laid out in a very particular order.

“Is that the ice queen?” Yang asked, covered in sweat.

“ _ Is that the brute? It’s been a while! _ ”

“I’m just happy that Blake was able to call you without a one-month prior notice!”

“ _ If my friends need to talk to me, everything else comes second. Especially with what you’re…”  _ It sounded like Weiss had stopped herself. “ _ So, what can I do for you? _ ”

“That robot I told you about,” Blake started, “another few attacked the rest of team SSSN, and they managed to keep one mostly intact. Yang’s been taking the pieces apart.”

Sun decided to join. “When I fought one of them, I noticed that it looked like a modified SDC cargo robot. But as far as I know, SDC cargo robots can’t open rifts through space-time.”

“So our thought is this:” Yang cut in, “if we can find out which piece causes that, we can maybe, just maybe, find the coordinates that it’s set to. And that’ll lead us to Yin.”

“ _ If you send me pictures, I can get them analyzed and give you a verdict on what doesn’t belong in that robot in about five hours. But, I don’t think we have anyone with expertise on rift-creating devices. _ ”

“Don’t worry, I know someone who can help,” Blake said, to the curious looks of the others in the room. “Thank you so much, Weiss.”

“ _ Absolutely no problem,”  _ Weiss responded. “ _ You’re going to find her. I have no doubt in my mind. _ ”

Blake looked distant for a moment. “Thanks, Weiss.”

___

 

Blake’s phone buzzed.

_ Right on time _ , she thought.  _ But really, what else was I expecting from Weiss? _

She opened her scroll up to her messages.

“ _ Found the piece you were looking for. Sorry it took so long. The people in the robotics division are idiots. _ ”

_ Weiss,  _ Blake thought with a smile.

Her phone buzzed again, and this time Weiss had sent her a picture. It was a zoomed-in version of one of the pictures they had sent the former heiress. The picture was focused on a round, flat piece of black metal that had blue accents on it. It was about hockey-puck-sized, but it didn’t have sharp edges like one. A few frayed wires came out of it.

Blake burst through the bedroom door midway through Yang changing, but she didn’t care.

“Yang, we’ve got it!”

“That’s great!” Yang said, hastily trying to put on a shirt so that she wasn’t standing topless in front of her wife during a conversation.

“We should go get it from team SSN’s apartment.”

“Wait, hang on,” Yang said, placing a hand firmly on Blake’s shoulder. “I love it when you’re enthusiastic. Seriously, I think I’m a little aroused right now. But we really have to talk about step two.” She looked directly into her wife’s eyes. “Who is this tech wizard that you know?”

Blake couldn’t compete with her gaze, and looked away. “Well, when I said that I know him, I may have been exaggerating a bit.” When she saw the growing confusion on Yang’s face, she continued, “We’ve met a few times, but I don’t really know much about him.”

“So what’s really our plan?”

Blake looked back at Yang. “You’re not going to like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Weiss exists in this storyline if you squint!
> 
> So, do you guys think that I should add a Weiss tag because of this chapter or not? I'll defer to your judgement.
> 
> As always, I greatly appreciate your comments and kudos. They make me feel like this story is worth posting. Thanks, and have a wonderful day!


	11. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Blake get the device examined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I frickin' love this chapter. I can't say why until you read it, but I really love it. Enjoy!

“So you’ve decided to visit me. I should feel honored.”

“And I should be at home, enjoying time with my family,” Yang returned. “I guess this isn’t a 'should' situation.”

“We need your help,” Blake said. “You’re not the only one who could help us, but you’re the fastest option.”

“So you’re asking  _ me _ for help?” Watts asked. “Doesn’t this seem just too much like something straight out of one of those abysmal X-Ray and Vav comic books?”

Yang hated him for knowing about that. One more thing that Salem and her lackies had ruined for her.

“Hey, I probably like being in this jail as little as you do,” she said.

“Perhaps,” Watts commented. “But I must say that I am glad that I was imprisoned here as opposed to Atlas. I hear that they hardly heat the prisons there, and that would be much too cold for my liking.”

“Hey,” Blake tapped loudly on the bars of the cell with the hilt of Gambol Shroud. “We’re not here to make small talk.”

“But of course. For what do you need my services?” Watts said, doing a little bow.

Blake took out the rift device. “Do you know what this is?”

Watts squinted at it. “From here? Not a clue.”

“It’s a device that makes little portals,” Yang said. “We need to know where they go. Think you can find out?”

“Without a doubt,” Watts said. “But, naturally, I’ll need a few things before I agree to do this.”

Yang narrowed her eyes at him.

“One,” Watts said, raising a finger. “I’ll need tools to open up the device. What you use on that,” he pointed to Yang’s right arm, “should suffice. You can make sure a guard stays here while I’m working to ensure that I don’t try to use the tools to escape. Secondly, I’ll need paper and a pencil to record my findings. Thirdly, I’ll, obviously, need the device itself.”

Blake and Yang paused to make sure that he was done talking.

"That’s it?" Yang said. "No 'I want my freedom' clause?"

“Of course not. As this faunus very aptly said, there are other people who could solve this problem. If I asked for my freedom, you would have simply said no. Instead, I’ll take the chance to study this new and exciting technology as my reward.”

They paused. Then Blake spoke up, “We need a moment to think about this.”

Watts smiled his sinister smile. “Take all the time that you need: I’m not going anywhere.”

They closed the door to the visitation area.

“This is insane,” Yang said.

“No argument there,” Blake commented. “But this could actually be our chance to find Yin. We could  _ save  _ her!”

“I know... and that’s why I already brought everything he needs,” Yang said, hesitantly taking a small box of tools and a notepad out of her jacket.

“I love you, Yang,” Blake said, pulling her wife towards herself for a brief kiss.

“And I hate Watts,” Yang said, going in for another quick smooch.

“Let’s both love each other and hate Watts, together.”

“Deal.”

___

 

“It was no simple task, I can assure you of that,” Watts said, fumbling with the papers laid out on his prison bed. “But, I’ve done it. Your monkey friend was right: it’s of Atlesian origin. A warehouse, not too far from a Schnee mine. It used to hold spare parts for cargo trains, but was abandoned when airships became more practical for dust transportation. It would be a perfect hideout for the person who built your robot kidnapper.”

“Wow, that’s very thorough,” Yang said. “This feels weird to say, but… Thanks Watts? Am I saying that right?”

“We are grateful,” Blake said. “Just… not grateful enough to forgive you for the countless years you spent conspiring against Remnant.”

“I suppose that damage is irreparable,” Watts reflected. “Oh well, this is the first real human contact I’ve had in weeks, so I’ll cherish it for what it was.”

“Well, we should be off,” Blake said.

“Oh, before you leave, one last thing!” Watts stopped them in their tracks. “Have fun!” he said, chuckling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing about that was comfortable.
> 
> I loved writing that chapter, because of the opposite dynamics of Watts and the huntresses. And also because Watts is a creep.
> 
> I always love your feedback, and I love your questions even more. Even though sometimes I can't answer them for you.
> 
> *Wiggles eyebrows*


	12. Airship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang, Blake, and Sun take a ship to Atlas, and bump into one of Blake's old... friends.

“Well that’s unsettling,” Sun said after Yang and Blake explained their interaction with Watts.

“Agreed,” Yang said. “But we actually have a lead now, and I’m not going to take that for granted.”

They were on a crowded airship headed towards Atlas. Scarlet and Neptune had gone with them to the airdocks, but had said that they couldn’t travel to Atlas. Sage was hurt, after all, and he needed people to take care of him. So here they were, anxious to get moving but cooped up on a ship that, at the time, felt like the slowest moving vehicle of all time.

Blake couldn’t stop fidgeting. None of them could. The silence was palpable as they all desperately tried to think about anything but how little they were doing.

Finally, Blake decided to fill it. “So, what’s our plan when we get there, assuming that Watts wasn’t lying to us completely?”

Yang’s hand went to Ember Celica, before she realized it wasn’t there. They were told to leave their weapons in the cargo hold. Yang just stroked her wrist instead. “We go in, beat everyone up, and get Yin back.”

“I guess that technically constitutes as a plan…” Blake said.

“I think it’s a great plan! Except for the countless robots that will probably be defending the place, it should be a piece of cake!” Sun said.

Blake couldn’t help but smile. “I like the confidence both of you have, but we should actually have a real  _ strategy _ before we go in.”

“Blake?” a familiar voice behind her said.

Blake turned around to see an equally familiar face. Maroon hair in a ponytail. Little patches on her face betraying the fact that she’s a faunus.

“Ilia?” Blake could hardly believe her eyes.

“It's… it’s been a long time,” the chameleon faunus said.

“It certainly has! What have you been up to this whole time?”

“I enrolled at Shade academy. I was a little older than normal applicants, but they let me in. Now I’m part of a real huntsman team: Team CIAN. And I think I finally understand what the appeal of being in a team is. I feel welcome in the world again. I feel loved!” Ilia went on to talk about her last mission, but then eventually stopped herself. “Sorry, I’m rambling. What have you been doing over these years?”

“Well, you might have heard that we saved the world,” Blake smirked. “But after that our team kind of went their own ways. We’re still in contact with everyone and we’re all still good friends, just… distant. I decided to go the more domestic route with my life. I think you’ve met Yang. She’s my wife now.”

“Oh…” Ilia seemed to notice Yang for the first time and started rubbing her arm in discomfort.

“Hi,” Yang said as she got increasingly clingy with Blake.

For a moment, there was silence between them. Then Sun stood up.

“I’m going to go be anywhere but here,” he said, leaving the seats before anyone could say anything about it.

“So…” Blake said, before she realized that she didn’t have anything to follow it up with. The silence continued for a few more moments, before she thought of a conversation topic. “Oh, why are you headed to Atlas?”

Ilia seemed to snap out of her stupor. “Oh, well the rest of my team is there. I told them I would catch up to them, but I had a few things I had to deal with in Mistral.”

Blake cocked an eyebrow. “Like what?”

Ilia grinned. “The same thing that we both have to deal with constantly.”

“The White Fang,” Yang said. It wasn’t a question.

“Actually, they’re undergoing a name change. Apparently, keeping a name under which you tried to end the world isn’t good for acquiring new members. I hear they’re going under the name 'Division Three’ now.”

“New name, same game,” Yang said with a smirk.

“Exactly,” Ilia responded, seeming to be less tense than before.

Blake smiled as it seemed that the two were starting to get along.

“So why are you two headed to Atlas?”

Blake’s smile disappeared as she started staring at the floor. It was the question she was dreading. Every time that she had to explain this, it put a clamp around her heart. She looked at Yang and saw that she felt the same hesitation to answer.

Then someone screamed.

A blue-and-black portal had opened in the middle of one of the aisles, and a robot- one of  _ the  _ robots- came out of it.

Blake stood up and reached for Gambol Shroud.

Except it wasn’t there.

_ Shit. _ Of course it wasn’t there. She had agreed to leave it in the cargo hold.

She saw Ilia also reach for an imaginary weapon out of the corner of her eye. Yang, on the other hand, still had her prosthetic, and the  _ click-click _ of her priming the gun could be heard.

“You two go get your weapons. I’ll stop the bot.”

Blake nodded, and the two started moving. But the robot wasn’t interested in Yang. It seemed to scan the room and zero in on Ilia. It rushed towards her, ducking under Yang’s strikes. People dived out of the way as it dashed toward the two faunus.

“Blake!” Yang called back to her.

She was already on it though. As Ilia’s skin shifted to white from fear, Blake grabbed her and used her semblance to launch into the air. The robot’s bladed hand passed harmlessly through her copy.

But the bot knew that they had to come back down. It prepared to strike again as soon as they hit the ground, but its blades were stopped by a cane.

“Go, I’ve got him,” Sun said, wielding some poor man’s cane as an improvised staff.

“ _ We’ve _ got him,” Yang corrected as she grabbed the robot by the head and threw it across the ship.

Blake and Ilia broke down the door to the cargo bay as they heard the sounds of panicking passengers behind them.

“What was that?!” Ilia had not changed her color back from white.

“ _ That’s  _ why we’re going to Atlas,” Blake said, rummaging through piles of boxes. “Someone’s sending those after huntsman teams, and one of them took my kid!”

“Wait, you have a child?”

“Two, and that’s  _ not _ the part of the sentence you should be focusing on!” Blake pulled Gambol Shroud out from behind the boxes and tossed Ilia’s weapon to her. “Here. Now help me find Sun and Yang’s weapons.”

Ilia took a step forward to help, but stumbled backwards as the entire airship shook.

“What was that?” She said, bracing herself on a crate.

_ Oh no, _ Blake thought.  _ An entire, flying box filled to the brim with panicking people. An isolated area of negative emotion. That’s bound to bring… _

The screech of the giant Nevermore was almost deafening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to quote the first comment on this story:
> 
> "ohhh this is rly cute, a smile didn't leave my face the entire time reading it. looking forward to seeing more!"
> 
> Oh, bargalaxies, you had no idea what you were getting into! (Nice profile pic, though.)
> 
> I LOVE answering comments and questions, so keep 'em coming. I'M READY FOR THEM!


	13. Combat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle on the airship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this fight scene. I've written a few in my days of writing, but this one might be my favorite.

With the screech of the Nevermore came the screeches of many terrified people.

“That’s bad,” Sun commented.

“Yes Sun, that is, in technical terms, bad,” Yang said, blocking a blade strike with her metallic arm.

“Should we take care of that?”

Yang thought for a moment as she wrestled with the robot. “No. Just keep this thing away from Ilia. They’ll take care of it.”

“Roger,” Sun said, hitting the robot on the back of the head with the cane. It had just about zero effect.

The robot pried an arm away from Yang and swung at him. He blocked it, and the robot spun back around and swung at Yang. She had to release her grasp of the robot’s other arm to somersault out of the way. Now with both arms freed, the robot made a dash for the cargo bay doors. Sun dove and grabbed it by the ankles, and it toppled to the ground. Yang planted both feet on top of its back and fired round after round into its head. Yang stopped when its head was about half-flattened to see if it was still alive.

The head and shoulders then rotated 180 degrees and she had to jump to avoid the frenzy of slashes.

The robot stood back up, rotated its features back into place, and went for Sun, who was blocking its path to the door. He deflected two blades with the cane, but was struck by a third swipe and was knocked to the side. Yang used a shot to propel herself into the side of the robot and tackled it into the wall. She then threw it a few feet further away from the door and watched it crash through a set of seats that had been abandoned.

Then the ship shook again, accompanied by another Nevermore cry.

_ Come on, Blake,  _ Yang thought. _ We can’t keep this up forever. _

_ ___ _

 

“Please tell me that wasn’t what I thought it was,” Ilia said, loading dust into her weapon.

“I’d love to, but I’d be lying,” Blake responded. She then shot her pistol through a window and punched through the shattered glass. She peeked her head up out of the opening and saw a huge wing above them.

“It’s on top of us. We need to get to the roof of this ship.”

“What about the robot?” Ilia asked, concern evident in her voice.

Blake paused for a moment, then said, “The safety of the people comes first. If that Nevermore hits us, we all go down.”

Ilia nodded. “So how do we get up there?”

Blake smiled, then shot three times into the ceiling of the room. “Get out of the way!” she then shouted, diving to the edge of the room.

A gigantic beak pierced through the roof where Blake had shot. When it retracted, cold air came blowing through the crevice.

“Going up?” Blake said with a smirk, gesturing for Ilia to grab her hand.

Ilia’s patches changed to a slight shade of pink as she stared, and then she complied. Blake used her semblance to jump them up onto the roof of the ship, and the wind immediately threatened to send them flying back off.

The Nevermore caught sight of them, and began looking at them more with curiosity than hunger. Blake shot Gambol Shroud at it, and it took off flying, more because of annoyance than pain.

“Huh, it’s tougher than it looks,” Ilia shouted over the sound of the wind.

“Yeah, they tend to be,” Blake returned.

The Nevermore swooped back around to try and bite at them, but Ilia landed an electric strike directly into its beak and it swerved away, thrashing its head around.

“None of our strikes seem to be doing much more than aggravating it,” Ilia shouted. “Do you have a plan?”

“Working on one,” Blake shouted back.

This time the Grimm flew higher above them and sent a torrent of feathers surging down upon them. Blake narrowly avoided them, but Ilia was struck by one and went careening off the side of the ship.

“Ilia!” Blake yelled. She threw Gambol Shroud down to her friend, who just barely grasped onto it. Ilia hung by the ribbon as Blake pulled it back in. Never had Blake been more thankful for the large turning radius of a Nevermore than in this moment.

But, as Ilia neared the top, the Nevermore had once again circled around. It was now flying directly beside the ship, on the side that Ilia was on.

Blake gasped as she realized what it was about to do. With one final tug, she pulled Ilia back onto the roof, just before the screeching Nevermore rammed the side of the ship.

It had taken nearly all of Blake’s energy to pull that off, and she kneeled down on the roof of the ship to try and catch her breath. But she got back up when the Nevermore screeched once again.

_ I could really use your help right about now, Yang, _ she thought.

___

 

Yang dodged to the left to avoid two blade strikes at once. Fluff flew into the air as the blades cut into the cushioned seats instead of her. The robot reeled backwards as Sun performed a dropkick on its already-damaged head. Then it slashed forward to clear the area in front of it and started heading for the door again. Yang didn’t let it get far, firing an explosive shot below its feet and sending it tumbling to the right. Sun was on it in a second, and tried fruitlessly to damage it with the cane. A single slash to the gut, and Sun’s aura was gone.

“Back up, Sun. I don’t want anyone getting hurt,” Yang said.

The robot seemed to process this information for a second. Then it went running for the innocent bystanders.

Yang flung herself in front of it, but took two hits in quick succession from the move. Her aura fizzled, but didn’t die. And most importantly, it made her angry.

She smashed her fists together and her hair was engulfed in flames. She opened her eyes and they were blood red.

The robot went for a stab, but was sent careening into the wall. Then Yang punched it in the throat until the joint popped. The robot kicked her out of the way, but as soon as it was free from her Sun hit it in the head so hard that the cane broke. The damaged head snapped off of the body and clanked on the ground.

Sun tossed the useless remains of the cane onto the ground with it. “Watch out, it’s got a second head!”

Yang didn’t need him to repeat his statement. She pounced on the robot as its other head rotated onto its shoulders and pinned its arms with her legs. She punched it in the head over and over with her metal fist as it tried desperately to escape.

Then one of the punches went clean through.

Yang stood up and removed her arm from the hole in the robot’s head. Its body stayed immobile.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Sun said.

Yang blinked and her eyes were purple once again. Then the whole ship tilted at another impact from the Nevermore.

“We need to help Blake and Ilia!”

Sun nodded, and they headed to the door of the cargo bay.

___

 

Blake would have fallen off when the Nevermore rammed the ship that time had she not embedded her sword into the surface of the ship.

“We can’t keep going like this, Blake! This ship won’t take too many more hits!” Ilia shouted to her. She hit the Nevermore with a few electric licks of her whip, and it swerved away from the ship a bit. “I really don’t know what to do here!”

“I don’t either!” Blake shouted. She took a few shots at the Grimm with her pistol, not expecting it to do much.

Then she heard the most beautiful sound she could have ever heard in that moment. It was the sound of Ember Celica propelling Yang onto the top of the ship.

“Thank God you’re here Yang! This is getting bad!” Blake shouted. Then Sun flung himself up behind her. “Oh, you too Sun! Good to see you!”

“Yo!” Sun responded.

Yang got close to Blake and took her hand. “So, what’s the situation?”

They both watched while Ilia used her whip on the other side of the airship to try to keep the Nevermore away. “It’s like the one from the Emerald Forest,” Blake said. “But this time we don’t have Ruby or a giant cliff face to help get rid of it.”

“We have these!” Sun said, sliding in next to them. He opened the hand that wasn’t holding his staff, and revealed four dust crystals. “I figured their owner wouldn’t mind me taking them so long as they, y’know, live?”

Yang outstretched her hand and Sun gave the crystals to her. “That’s a good idea. Think you can make the shot, Blake?”

“Maybe,” Blake said.

They approached the side of the ship that the Nevermore and Ilia were on. Despite the chameleon faunus’s best efforts, the Nevermore was closing in.

Yang held up a yellow crystal. “Ready?” she shouted over the wind.

“As I’ll ever be,” Blake said, putting her pistol in front of her.

Yang threw the crystal. Blake waited until it was near the Grimm before shooting at it.

And missed.

Yang looked over the edge of the ship as the crystal fell to the earth below. “Well that’ll be a fun surprise for someone.”

“Yang!”

“Sorry!” Yang shouted. She then held up a blue crystal. “Second chance.”

She threw it. Blake slowly inhaled, then exhaled. And then she squeezed the trigger.

A burst of ice enveloped one of the Nevermore’s wings, and it went spinning out of control, plunging down to the ground.

“Oh my God you did it!” Yang shouted, promptly followed by her pulling Blake in for a long kiss.

Ilia stood awkwardly nearby. When Blake broke the kiss, the black-haired faunus motioned for both her and Sun to join the couple in a group hug, which she did after a moment’s hesitation.

After a few seconds of the hug, Sun said, “Can we continue this below deck? It’s freezing up here.”

They all laughed and nodded as they headed back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought that the moment where Roman Torchwick shot at the fire dust crystal was underused as a mechanic, so I used it to defeat the Nevermore.
> 
> I love responding to comments. You guys make me smile. Have a nice day!


	14. Warehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three finally reach their destination.

When they landed in Atlas, Ilia went to check and make sure that her team was okay after their corresponding robot attack. That just left Sun, Blake, and Yang to find who they had been searching for. To find Yin.

It was a long, cold journey to the warehouse. Thankfully, Yang was a portable heater and they all had good stories to tell. Sun told them about some of the mischief he and his team had gotten into at Haven. Blake told some stories from books she had read, including the one Sun had given her. Yang talked about her last mission, where she had faced off against a red-haired, brown-eyed fire-breather with twin axes just to finish up the package. They were all entertained and distracted from the reality of what they were about to have to do.

Then they were there. The warehouse. It seemed to tower above anything near it, of which there was little other than snow piles. A worn-out Schnee family crest was emblazoned on the front, above two giant double doors which were cracked open.

Yang took a deep breath, pulled the doors open with a resounding creak, and walked in, followed by the other members of her party. Once they were all inside, Yang shut the doors behind them.

“ _ I wasn’t expecting visitors, _ ” a voice boomed and echoed out of the overhead speakers. It was clearly male, but not much more could be ascertained from it.

“Well, surprise then! We’re here!” Yang shouted back at the voice.

“ _ Did you like them? My creations. The robot body modifications were simple, but I’m really proud of the rift mechanic. It has just enough fuel to create a portal somewhere and a portal back. Then I can just replace the part. It’s perfect for what I use them for. _ ”

“Killing huntsmen,” Yang said.

“ _ Precisely. _ ”

Sun looked at the others. “Y’know, I’m getting the how, I’m just not getting the why.”

Blake decided to ask. “Why are you trying to kill huntsmen?”

“ _ Because you’re murderers. _ ”

“...Would you like to be more specific?” Yang asked.

There was no response.

Yang sighed. “Okay, guess that’s all we’re getting from him. Split up and find where this guy is.”

Sun cut in, “Or, we could not do the stupid thing that gets everyone killed and we could stick together instead.”

Blake nodded. “I like  _ that  _ plan.”

Yang grinned. “Alright, fine.”

They started scouring the warehouse as a unit. It was divided into two sections. The larger section was where all the materials and machines were kept. Very tall shelves lined the area. The other section was mainly offices and conference rooms. The three had agreed to search the warehouse area first.

Then the speakers came back on.

“ _ I know who you all are, _ ” the voice said.

“Good for you, bud. You watched the news at some point!” Yang mocked.

“ _ Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna of Team RWBY. _ ”

The two said, “Blake Xiao Long” and, “Yang Belladonna” in sync, and then smiled just a little at each other.

“ _ And you are Sun Wukong of Team SSSN. I’ve already sent my robots against your team. _ ”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Sun said.

“ _ Imagine my surprise when one of them came back with a little present. _ ”

Yang’s eyes went red as she located the closest speaker and shot it to pieces. “Don’t you fucking dare talk about my daughter like that!”

There was silence for a moment. Then the voice came back.

“ _ Miss Xiao Long, you’re boring me. When I’m bored, it is my inclination to find a way to entertain myself. _ ”

Two robots dropped from the top shelves of the warehouse and showed their blades.

Yang groaned as the three living beings in the room readied their weapons.

“Honestly, fuck you mysterious voice guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have been really quiet for the past couple of chapters! I'm a little worried!
> 
> Seriously, though, I love talking to you guys, so don't be afraid to ask any questions you come up with or make any comment on the story. I'm committed to responding to as many of them as possible, which is all of them.
> 
> We're starting to near the end of the journey now. I won't tell you how many chapters are left, but it's in the single digits.
> 
> Finally, I genuinely hope you (yes, you, the one reading this!) have a wonderful day, week, and year. I would hope for you to have a wonderful life, but that may be copywrited.


	15. Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle of the warehouse.

_ Here we go again, _ Sun thought as he got his gunchucks ready.

_ I’m getting sick and tired of this,  _ Yang thought as she stared down the robots.

_ We were able to handle one before, but two? _ Blake thought, taking her sheath into a separate hand from her sword.

A moment that felt infinite passed as both sides waited for the other to strike first. Then the robots played the gentlemen and went first.

Blake used her semblance to jump away, before following it up with an attack with both of her swords. Sun blocked three strikes in a row and then performed a backflip-kick to gain some distance. Yang capitalized on this and got up close to the one Sun was fighting, delivering blow after blow to its chest.

Blake tried several times to cut the second one’s head off, with little success. The robot came lunging toward her once again, and this time she loaded her copy with fire dust. The robot was exploded across the room and crashed through a box full of metal parts.

Sun waited for Yang to get out of the way before he could shoot. He supposed that the moment she was flung headlong into a wall was a good opportunity. He shot over and over into the robot’s head, and finally managed to knock it off. This time, however, he had brought extra ammo. He reloaded his guns and started shooting at the second head, but he wasn’t expecting the robot to put its blades away and grab him. He was thrown to the ground with so much force that it knocked the air out of him, even with aura.

Blake jumped out of the way of a frenzy of slashes. Then Yang came barrelling into the robot she was fighting, knocking it to the ground. The blonde laid into the thing’s head, but it wasn’t going to let it be that easy. It hit her hard with a blade, and she went tumbling away. Blake tried to keep it on the ground with a peppering of bullets, but it wouldn’t stay down. Instead, she decided to lodge Gambol Shroud in the robot’s neck and looked at Yang.

“Can I get a boost?” Blake asked.

Yang smirked. Blake jumped on her shoulders and, with the assistance of Ember Celica, was sent flying into the air. She used the momentum to pull on her ribbon, sending the robot spiraling up over her head and then crashing down into the cement floor.

Yang was on it without a moment’s hesitation, but the robot recovered faster than expected. She narrowly avoided a swipe, so much so that it cut clean through her jacket and sliced her scroll in half.

Sun started climbing up the shelves to see if the robot would follow. To his dismay, it did, leaping from shelf to shelf after him. Sun waited for the perfect moment, then shot it while it was midair, killing all of its momentum and leaving it to fall back to the ground. Sun jumped and landed on its head, which felt satisfying but didn’t do much. He then laid into its head again with his shotguns, and the second head, now crushed into oblivion, popped off. The body stopped moving. Sun looked up to see the fight the other two were engaged in.

Blake tried and failed again to cut the neck of the robot she was fighting, then had to block a strike with her sword. Yang made a fire-dust explosion underneath the robot’s feet and it tumbled across the ground. She pounced on it and punched it in the chest repeatedly until she made a hole. Then she reached her prosthetic in and ripped out a bunch of wires that looked important. The lights on the robot flickered out and the body slumped on the ground.

“Well, that happened,” Sun said, reloading his guns.

Then they all jumped when the speaker came back on.

“ _ I’m in the conference room with the lit indicator above it. Can you see it? _ ”

Yang looked around and saw the room he was talking about on the second floor.

“Why should we believe you?” she asked.

There was silence.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!” Yang yelled.

A new voice came over the speakers.

“ _ Momma? _ ”

“Yin! Oh my God! Are you okay?!”

They all waited for a response, but none came.

“God DAMMIT!” Yang shouted, her eyes turning red. She started pummeling the inanimate robot on the ground.

Blake hugged her to try to calm her down, which eventually worked. Her eyes turned to lilac, and tears fell out of them.

“So, what do we do?” Sun asked.

Yang wiped away her tears and stood up to her full height. “What choice do we have? We do exactly as he says.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were you guys READY TO RUMBLE?!  
> Because, that's what happened. It was a fight. Yay.
> 
> I'm appreciating all of the support you amazing people are giving me. You people are an awesome group! I love every comment and kudo.
> 
> Have a great day, and dream of bees tonight!


	16. Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets to see her daughter again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploaded early, because I'm playing D&D at my normal upload time.

They walked in front of the door to the room in silence. There were no windows, so they couldn’t see inside. It was dark, the only light being the green indicator above the door.

Yang took a deep breath. “I’m going in. Stay out here until I know it’s not a trap.”

Blake grabbed her wrist. “No, I’ll do it. I don’t want you-”

Yang pried her wrist from her wife’s grasp. “It wasn’t a request, Blake. You two are staying out here.”

Blake was ready to argue, but then Yang turned to face her. Her eyes weren’t red. She wasn’t angry. She was afraid.

Blake slowly nodded and stepped back.

Yang took one more deep breath, and walked in.

The door sealed behind her. She could hear the sounds of Blake and Sun banging on the door.

_ Well, I can’t say that I didn’t expect that, _ Yang thought.  _ At least they’re safe. _

“I’m glad you were able to join us,” the male voice said to her left.

Yang didn’t even wait to look at him. She just fired.

The shot went through him like he wasn’t even there. Like in those nightmares she used to have about Adam.

“You’re not really here,” Yang said.

She now took a moment to assess the room. It was completely empty, other than the three people in there. Those people were Yang, the man… and Yin.

“No, that happens to be my semblance. I’m not a huntsman, but I’ve studied aura for long enough to find out that I can become incorporeal,” the man said. “I am very real.” He then pointed a gun at Yin’s head. “And so is this, so I would suggest that you don’t do that again.”

Yang took a step forward and the man pressed the gun further towards Yin’s skull.

“Momma…” Yin got out between sobs.

“Okay, okay,” Yang said. She took Ember Celica off of her wrist and placed it slowly on the ground.

“And the arm. I’m one of the people who helped design it. I know what’s in there.”

“Okay,” Yang said, detaching her prosthetic arm and placing it on the ground next to her weapon.

“So you asked me to elaborate earlier,” the man said. “Elaborate on why I’m doing this.”

“I guess I did,” Yang said. She felt like she had to be careful of every breath she took, or else she might offend him in some way and he would pull the trigger.

“You must know now what it feels like to have a child,” he said, roaming around but keeping the gun trained on Yin. “Every accomplishment they make, every success they feel… you’re filled with pride over everything they do.”

Yang nodded, a lump forming in her throat.

“What you don’t know is what it’s like to  _ lose  _ a child. The pain. The heartbreak. The sorrow. That never goes away. So imagine how I felt when I saw that my daughter had a huntsman contract against her.”

Yang took a second to  _ really _ look at the man. He was wearing a uniform fitting of an Atlesian scientist. He had grey hair, but it was evident that it was once red. His eyes were brown.

_ Wait. Red hair. Brown eyes. Her last mission. The fire breather. _

_ Oh no. _

“I had always thought that huntsmen were a thing of the past. Armies are more efficient, more modern. But to think that huntsmen would be so much a slave to their contracts that they would kill a girl that had done nothing wrong… I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know which huntsman or huntress killed her, so I’ve been attacking them systematically. By team, of course.”

“If she had a contract against her, it means that she hurt someone,” Yang said cautiously, trying not to betray that she was to blame.

“Liar!” the scientist shouted, pointing the gun more dramatically at Yin, who flinched at the motion. “She was an innocent little girl! I know my girl, and she would never have done that!”

“Please, it’s true! She was a fully grown adult! You couldn’t have known, and it wasn’t your fault, but she killed people!”

“That’s not true! How would you even…” then he stopped. “You,” he said, incredulous. “It was YOU!”

“Please, calm down. We can settle this rationally…” Yang said, the words feeling weird coming out of her mouth.

The man went to Yin and pressed the gun into her head. “ _ You  _ took my baby girl away from me!” There was a wild look in his eyes, but then his face settled into a calm smile. “Maybe you should have to suffer through the same thing I did.”

Yang’s eyes went crimson. “You wouldn’t! Yin is the only thing keeping me from killing you!”

“I suppose you’re right…” he said, almost looking disappointed.

Yang breathed an internal sigh.

But then the man’s face lit up. “But she isn’t your only daughter.”

Yang’s red eyes widened. The man pressed a button on the wall, and a section of the wall opened up. One of the robots walked out of it.

“Your target is Moon Belladonna. Location: 5919-4602. Kill on sight.”

Then the robot disappeared into a rift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before you get mad at me for making the main enemy an OC, let me explain my motivation.
> 
> My original thoughts for this story only involved Yin getting taken by the robots. Then, when I decided to give the robots a creator, he ended up being very... 'Mwahaha I will take over the world'.
> 
> Then I wrote the first chapter for this story, and I randomly decided to put in the detail about Yang's last mission. After the chapter was done, I realized that I could give my villain some _real_ motivation.
> 
> I, for a while while writing the story, was under the assumption that the woman that Yang had to kill was going to be the scientist's wife. But then I realized that this story was almost entirely focused on parenthood, and I knew what I had to do.
> 
> So now the name of this story has a double standard.
> 
> _Now_ you may get mad at me for making the main enemy an OC. Or, you know, say whatever else you want to say.
> 
> (And yes, I completely forgot that Merlot existed. Don't judge me!)


	17. Hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moon...

Moon was reading peacefully in the living room. The book that Uncle Sun had given her was right at her reading level and she loved it. This was the fifth time she read it and she wasn’t bored at all.

Her nanny was sitting on the couch looking at her scroll, and would occasionally glance at Moon to make sure she hadn’t managed to kill herself yet.

It was almost dinner time, and Moon was hungry. She put her book down, walked to her nanny, and tugged on her skirt.

“Oh, are you hungry?” she asked.

Moon nodded.

But just then there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll go see who that is, then I’ll make us some food, okay?”

Moon nodded again.

The nanny walked to the door. Moon listened to see if she knew who it was.

“Hi, how can-”

Then Moon heard her nanny scream, the sound of a blade swishing, and a body hitting the floor.

Moon peeked over the couch and saw the nanny on the floor in a pool of red, and some metal man standing above her with knives for hands.

Moon’s instincts told her to hide, and she listened to them.

She ran as fast as she could to the other side of the living room and ducked under what was essentially a dresser, but they filled it with movies instead of clothes.

Then she remembered that Mommy had told her to call her if she was ever in trouble. She looked behind her and saw the cord for the home scroll’s charger. When she pulled on it, the charger and scroll both fell to the ground, and she pulled both under the dresser with her.

And then she heard the footsteps. The robot had evidently turned around when it heard that noise. She saw its feet when it walked into the room and started searching.

Moon didn’t know Mommy’s scroll number, but she knew Momma’s. So she dialed that number.

“ _ Boop. _ ”

“ _ Boop. _ ”

“ _ Boop. _ ”

“ _ We’re sorry, it seems that number has been deactivated or otherwise lost.” _

_ Oh, _ Moon thought.  _ Momma probably lost her scroll somehow. _

But Moon didn’t know who else to call, so she just called the only other number she knew.

“ _ Boop. _ ”

“ _ Boop- _ ”

“ _ Hey Yang. I’m on a mission right now, so we’ll have to keep this short, but… uh… what’s up? _ ”

“Aunt Ruby?” Moon said as quietly as she could.

“ _ Oh, Moon! Hi! How are you? What brings you calling? _ ”

Moon didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Help me…”

She turned her head to look at the robot and saw its glowing red face staring right back at her. She screamed.

“ _ Moon?! _ ”

She dropped the scroll and crawled away as fast as she could, as the robot tried to swipe at her under the dresser.

“ _ Moon, what’s going on?! _ ”

“ _ Pick up the scroll! _ ”

“ _ Moon?! _ ”

“ _ MOO- _ ”

And the line went dead as the scroll was stabbed by a blade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let us all lament the loss of Random Nanny #3.
> 
> Comments, questions and suggestions are always appreciated.
> 
> Hope you are having a good weekend so far!


	18. Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wouldn't like her when she's upset.

“You sick son of a bitch!”

The man smirked. “Careful, Mrs. Xiao Long. There are sensitive ears here.” He emphasized his point by flicking Yin’s ear with the tip of the pistol.

“You’re a fucking psychopath!” Yang shouted, ignoring his last comment.

She took a step forward, but stopped when the man pushed the gun into Yin’s head slightly, making her tilt it.

“And you’re a murderer,” he said.

“Said the man with a fucking gun to my daughter’s head!” Yang’s hair was ablaze.

The sound of a gunshot rung out from behind Yang, and the door slid open.

“See, I told you shooting it would work!” Sun said.

Blake shook her head. “There’s no reason that should have-” then she froze, having seen the situation they were in.

“Security doors: there’s always a loophole to them,” the man said. He kept the gun trained on Yin, and went to what seemed to be the speaker controls. “I need two units to the conference room.”

Yin looked at Blake. “Mommy, I’m scared.”

Blake stayed where she was. “Yin, did he hurt you?”

The man pressed the gun a little farther, almost enough to make Yin stumble. “No, but I easily can. So choose your next actions very wisely.”

Sun locked eyes with Yin, then looked back at the man. “You shouldn’t point that gun at her. If you want to kill a huntsman, kill a huntsman.”

The man smiled as if what he said was ridiculous, but then his expression softened in contemplation. “You know what, I think I will.”

He pulled the gun on Sun and fired.

The bullet broke Sun’s aura and knocked him over, but didn’t go through.

As the man aimed for another shot on Sun, an orb of light hit him hard in the back of the head, making him see stars. Yin ran to her parents, who were arming themselves and preparing for a fight.

“You little brat!” the man yelled. He shot at Yin, but Yang blocked the shot with her right arm.

“Big mistake,” Yang said, her hair almost as bright as the sun. She dashed toward the man and unleashed a blinding flurry of blows.

Unfortunately, all of them went through him.

“I fucking hate your semblance,” she said, winded after that outlash.

Then two robots entered through the door. Blake separated her swords and loaded dust into her cartridge.

This was going to be a fight after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's a little short, but it was the best stopping point! The next one will be longer, I promise.
> 
> Now I am currently mildly depressed by the fact that re:Bound, one of my favorite fics, did not get updated on schedule. Allie, if you happen to be reading this, I just want you to know that what you've been writing actually helped me want to post this story. re:Bound is so polished and interesting that when you said that it wouldn't be updated for two weeks, I had to fill the void for myself. So, thank you for helping me motivate myself.
> 
> But also, screw you for making Harkan a thing.
> 
> I hope all of the rest of you have a wonderful day filled with stories and happiness! See ya!
> 
> Update: re:Bound actually has been updated. Not sad anymore!


	19. Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moon hides from the robot, while Yang, Blake and Sun fight in the warehouse.

Moon ran to the only place she thought she could hide: her and Yin’s bedroom. She jumped into the closet and shut it behind her. Then she waited, trembling and crying, for the robot to come after her.

Just as she started thinking she might have lost it, the door to the bedroom was bashed off of its hinges. She peeked through the crack between the closet doors to see.

The robot started tearing the room apart trying to look for her. It ripped apart the mattresses, it broke apart the bookshelf, and it pried open the floorboards. It seemed entirely committed to ripping her to shreds.

Moon just stifled her sobs and tried to stay as silent as possible.

The robot retracted its blades and started throwing the furniture to try and find her. A lamp hit the closet doors and an involuntary yelp left Moon's lips.

The robot noticed.

It slowly neared the closet doors, and looked at her through the crack. It then ripped the doors free of their hinges and threw them backwards.

Moon curled up in the corner, trying in vain to hide herself.

Then something fast and red came crashing through the window and into the robot’s side.

A red scythe wrapped around its neck.

Ruby fired her rifle three times, which cleanly separated the head of the robot from the body.

“Moon? Where are you?” she shouted, looking frantically around the room.

“Aunt Ruby?” Moon said weakly.

“Moon! There you are. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Moon shook her head.

“Where are your mothers?”

Moon didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Whatever. What matters is you’re safe now.”

A blade swung around and caught Ruby on the shoulder. She slid across the room from the impact to her aura.

“What? I thought I killed you!” Ruby yelled at the robot.

It didn’t look at her. It just prepared to slice Moon in two.

Moon flinched, but Ruby caught the blade with her scythe. She spun her weapon around to throw the robot into the wall.

The robot rushed for Moon again, but this time Ruby was prepared. She fired ice dust at the robot’s feet, locking it in place. Then she spun her scythe as fast as she could, and impaled it through the robot’s secondary head.

“And stay dead this time!” Ruby said to the slumped-over robot carcass as she pried her weapon free from it. Then she ran over and picked Moon up. “Come on, we have to get you out of this house.”

___

 

“What?!” the scientist yelled, mostly to himself. “How did unit U-15 go down to a child?!” He became incorporeal for a shot from Blake, then pressed the speaker button. “I need two more units in the conference room. All other units, take out Moon Belladonna.”

“What?!” Blake shouted as she blocked two blades with her sheath.

“Yeah,” Yang said, finally punching off one of the heads of the robot she was fighting. “He’s kind of a dick.”

_ Hang in there, Moon,  _ Yang thought. _ Whatever you did to survive, keep doing it. _

___

 

Ruby had to put Moon down before they got to the staircase, and then she collapsed on the ground.

“Aunt Ruby!” Moon exclaimed.

“I’m fine,” Ruby managed to huff out. “The adrenaline just wore off and it feels like my body suddenly realizes that I just used my semblance to get here all the way from Mountain Glenn.”

Moon just looked concerned.

“Seriously, I’m okay. Just let me catch my breath.”

A few moments passed in silence, and then Ruby got back up.

“Okay, let’s go.”

They descended the stairs and were nearing the open front door when they saw all the robots outside.

“Oh no,” Ruby said.

The robots were storming the house. Dozens of them.

Kneeling down to Moon’s height, she said, “Change of plans. I need you to go hide in the garage. They shouldn’t be able to get in from there. Find somewhere super safe in there and just… hide. Aunt Ruby needs to go stop the bad guys.”

Moon nodded and ran for the garage.

Ruby sighed. “This is not going to go well.”

___

 

Yang’s aura dropped with a strike to the back of the head. Oh well, at least she was angry. She rushed back in and pummeled one of the robots’ head to a flat piece of metal. That robot finally dropped to the ground, lifeless.

_ One down. Finally. _

Instead of setting her sights on one of the remaining three robots, she tried to find the scientist in the room. And she just caught a glimpse of him before he tried to sneak out of the room through the front door.

Yang cocked her gauntlets and launched herself through the door after him before anyone could tell her not to.

___

 

Sun watched Yang catapult out of the room.

“Well, now it’s three on two… well, two and Yin”

“She does that sometimes,” Blake said, blocking strikes from two robots simultaneously.

“We need to get out of this room,” Sun said, trying and failing to knock the head off of one of the bots with his staff.

“On it. Get behind me.”

Sun picked Yin up and did as Blake said. Blake then used wind dust on a clone, blowing the living beings out of the room and the robotic ones further in.

Sun rushed back to the door and shut it. Seconds later, the sound of metal banging against metal rang from the door as Sun braced it.

“Oh, I really regret shooting the locking mechanism now,” Sun said, strained by the effort of keeping the door shut.

“I told you,” Blake said.

“Regardless, I have a plan. Remember how Neptune said that these things can get shocked to death?”

“Yeah?” Blake cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, I have this,” Sun took out a yellow dust crystal.

“How  _ do _ you have that? I thought Yang had the other two dust crystals.”

“Well, I may have been less than honest about how many I took,” Sun had a guilty expression on his face.

“We  _ will _ talk about this later,” Blake said, readying her pistol.

Sun tossed the crystal to Yin. “As soon as I open the door, throw this in there, okay?”

Yin nodded. “I can do it!”

Sun nodded back. “Three, two, one.”

The door opened and Yin threw the crystal on the ground behind the robots, and Blake shot it. It exploded into a giant orb of electricity as Sun shut the door again.

Unfortunately, the door was made of metal. Sun’s body thrashed around as he screamed out in pain, unable to let go of the door.

Once the electricity dispersed, Sun dropped to the ground.

Blake rushed to his side.  _ That much electricity hitting someone who didn’t have any aura left could… _

She put her ear to his chest and gasped.

He didn’t have a heartbeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've been at 99 kudos ALL DAY and it's driving me INSANE!
> 
> In other news, Ruby is here to save the day... hopefully.
> 
> I am excited! We're almost at the end, and I'm still enjoying all of your comments. If we could get 120 kudos on this story before it ends, that would be awesome! Let's make it happen!


	20. Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang chases down the scientist, Blake tries to save Sun's life, and Moon tries to survive.

_ Come on, Sun. Wake up! You’ve gotta make it! _

_ Wake up! _

_ Wake up!!! _

___

 

The scientist climbed down the ladder from the second floor. That was his first mistake. Yang jumped from the catwalk and landed on top of him, surprising him enough that he didn’t activate his semblance.

She faked a punch with her right arm so that he would activate his semblance at the wrong time, then hit him with a left hook to the face.

He was so dazed by the punch that he stopped struggling altogether.

“Listen to me when I tell you this: you’re being delusional,” Yang said. “Your daughter was not the wonderful person you thought she was.”

“You’re a liar. She was my little girl.”

“You keep saying that!” Yang shook him by his collar on the ground. “I’m a parent too, and no matter how often I want my kids to stay little, they are going to grow up. They’ll grow up, and I won’t be able to protect them anymore. And this hurts to say, but I won’t have any say in what they do anymore, because they’ll be their own people.”

“I know that!”

“No you don’t, because none of us do! We all tell ourselves that we’re ready for them to become their own people, but in the end we just want them to stay forever protected. Because that’s what parents do.”

The scientist paused for a moment. “Do you remember what her name was?”

“Your daughter?” Yang thought for a moment. “Was it Blanc?”

The scientist nodded. “Venus Blanc.”

“So you’re…?”

“Doctor Mars Blanc,” he said before pausing again. “How many people did she kill?”

Yang closed her eyes as she tried to recall. “Twenty-three. She intentionally set a crowded building on fire, then killed anyone who tried to escape it.”

Doctor Blanc looked almost in pain at hearing this information.

“I know it’s not easy to hear this, and I know it’s even harder to believe it, but you need to understand that regardless of the circumstances, what you did was wrong. Many huntsmen are hurt and one was even killed. Not to mention the fact that you kidnapped and threatened a child.  _ My  _ child.”

Blanc slowly nodded, tears in his eyes.

“Is there any way you can stop the robots that you sent after Moon?”

Blanc shook his head.

Yang sighed. “Of course not.”

“YANG!” she heard Blake yell.

She turned to look towards the voice, and felt herself fall through the person beneath her. She turned back to see Doctor Blanc running out of the warehouse into the blizzard outside.

She shook her head disappointedly.

“YANG, WE NEED YOUR HELP!”

Yang glanced at the door Blanc left through one last time, then turned to run back to the others.

___

 

Moon had found a pile of black tarps in the garage that she was almost camouflaged in because of her black hair. She knew that Aunt Ruby would take care of all the scary things. That’s what Aunt Ruby did.

But Moon became terrified when one of the robots seemed to have gotten past her and found its way into the garage.

Like the one that had been in her room, it started tearing the place apart. And this time, it didn’t take very long for it to spot her. As soon as it did, it charged her. She was incredibly scared.

And we all know what that would bring clawing to the house.

An Ursa bashed through the garage door and snapped the robot in half with its powerful jaws.

Moon felt a wave of relief pass over her, until she realized that this was in no way a better situation. The Ursa stared directly at her, snarling.

_ It’s okay, _ Moon thought.  _ Mommy deals with Grimm all the time. Momma deals with Grimm all the time. Aunt Ruby isn’t afraid of Grimm at all. Aunt Ruby. What would Aunt Ruby do? She wouldn’t run away, so I won’t either! _

The Ursa slowly crawled towards her, licking its lips.

“I’m… I’m not scared of you,” Moon said, stepping backward a little bit.

The Ursa continued to approach, almost looking amused.

This time Moon didn’t move an inch. “I’m not scared of you.”

The Ursa stopped in front of her and raised its clawed arm to slash at her.

Then this time Moon shouted it, and realized that it was actually true. She wasn’t afraid.

“I’m not scared of you!”

For a split second, her vision went completely white. Then her vision returned, and the Ursa looked dazed. It was stumbling backwards, clawing at the air, as if it was… blinded.

Moon saw her chance. A rush of courage burned in her veins. She wasn’t going to die today.

The Ursa seemed to be shaking off the blindness. It looked at her with a look of pure rage.

_ I’m sorry, Momma. I know you told me not to play with your tools in the garage. _

The Ursa charged her, throwing caution to the wind. She waited until the last possible moment, then jumped out of the way.

The Ursa landed its head on top of a small, metal table.

Then Moon plugged the table saw in.

The Ursa’s head was cut off in record time, thanks to Yang’s hazardous equipment.

Ruby showed up at the door to the garage in a flurry of rose petals. She had blood trickling from a wound in her head and was clutching at a bigger one on her arm. “I’m sorry, one got by me and got into here, are you okay?!”

Then she saw the huge Grimm carcass dissolving into smoke. She looked from Moon to the body and then back to Moon over and over again.

“You killed an Ursa?!” Ruby exclaimed. “I don’t know whether to be proud or mortified, so I’m going to stick with proud!”

“Aunt Ruby, are the bad people gone?”

Ruby’s eyes widened like she had just remembered something important that she had forgotten. She turned around and there were five robots behind her, all with blades ready to strike.

“Moon, get back. We’re cornered.”

___

 

Blake was trying to perform CPR to the best of her ability, even though she had only ever taken one class for it. And that was back in her first, and only, year at Beacon.

Yang showed up out of nowhere. “What’s wrong?”

“Uncle Sun stopped moving!” Yin said.

“I’ve been trying to resuscitate him for the past thirty seconds, I just don’t really know how to do it right!” Blake was panicking, and she knew that Yang could tell.

“Move over,” was all Yang said. As Blake complied, Yang brought her ear to Sun’s chest. “You didn’t need me! You already saved his life!”

Blake tilted her head. “I did?”

“Blake, did you ever check his heartbeat  _ after _ you started CPR?”

“I thought I would feel it start beating when it did. Don’t look at me like that!” Blake playfully shoved Yang.

“Like what?”

“You’re judging me!”

Yin started laughing. Then they both realized in unison that she was safe. She was okay.

Yang tackle-hugged Yin and ruffled the hair between her cat ears. “I’m so happy to see you safe! Don’t ever get kidnapped again, okay?”

Blake calmly joined the hug. “We were so worried.”

“The guy with the gun was scary, but otherwise I was okay,” Yin said.

Blake looked at Yang. “What happened to him, by the way?”

Yang gave her a look. It was a look Blake knew well. It was the 'I don’t want to talk about it right now. We’ll chat later,’ look.

“Okay,” Blake said without needing a verbal prompt.

Yin looked at Blake. “Mommy, is Moon going to be okay?”

Both parents shot to their feet. “Moon!” they said in unison.

Yang reached for her pocket, and took a broken half-scroll out.

Thankfully, Blake still had her scroll. She dialed the home number with shaking fingers.

“ _ Boop. _ ”

“ _ Boop. _ ”

“ _ Boop- _ ”

The sound of someone picking up the scroll could be heard over the line.

“Hello?” Blake asked, not sure if Moon or the nanny would have picked up.

The line was silent for a moment.

“Hello?” Blake repeated, becoming increasingly concerned.

“ _ You had a real pest problem over here. You should be glad that Moon hired the best exterminator around. _ ”

“RUBY?!”

“ _ Hi, Blake. _ ”

Blake couldn’t help but pump her fist in the air. If Ruby was there, that meant that Moon had to be safe. She could see that Yang, from the half of the conversation she was hearing, felt the same way.

“How is she? Moon, I mean.”

“ _ No one laid a finger on her. I wish I could say the same for your Nanny though. _ ”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll notify her family when we get back.” When Yang looked at her concerned, Blake mouthed, 'Moon’s fine’ to her.

“ _ I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about when you get back, too. _ ”

Blake looked around the warehouse as daylight finally started to shine into it. “Yeah, we really do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang gives a lecture on parenthood! Also, Moon is a badass child! Yay!
> 
> Next chapter will be the last, and I just want to say that you people have made this a worthwhile journey! Keep being awesome!


	21. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

“ _ Fugitive and former Atlesian scientist Doctor Mars Blanc was found dead of alcohol poisoning earlier this morning. Doctor Blanc was wanted for multiple attempted murders- _ ”

Blake changed the channel of the TV to a kid’s channel, as per Yin’s request.

Yang was cooking omelettes for everyone this morning. She was working on Blake's at the moment, which was, obviously, loaded with fish.

“Huh,” Ruby said as she was looking at her scroll. “‘Salem conspirator Doctor Watts escaped containment today. Security tape footage shows that he used a device made of found objects to open a rift that he promptly entered. No evidence has been found as to where the rift took him.’”

Yang stopped moving her spatula. “We’re going to have to go ahead and take partial responsibility for that,” she said.

“Oh well,” Blake commented, hugging Yang from behind. “If he causes trouble, we’ll catch him. If he doesn't, then he learned his lesson.”

Ruby looked at the two. “I don’t know if Watts is a very lesson-learny kind of person.”

“Then we’ll kick his butt!” Yang said.

A cartoon version of an Ursa appeared on the television screen.

“You see that?” Ruby said to Moon. “You killed one of those!”

“She did WHAT?!” Blake asked incredulously.

Everyone stared at Ruby with an open jaw. Even Yin.

“Did I not tell you guys about that?” Ruby asked.

“You most certainly did not!” Yang said, picking the pan back up after dropping it on the burner.

Ruby carried on nonchalantly. “Yeah, she was in the garage and she killed an Ursa all on her own. With a table saw, right?”

Moon nodded.

“And you just let this happen?!” Blake was furious.

“Well, I was slightly preoccupied with about eleven nearly-indestructible robots with blades at once.” Ruby gestured to the several broken metal bodies littering the house.

Yang looked back at her wife. “She has a point, sweetheart. And you,” she planted a kiss on Blake’s forehead, “have an omelette.” She flipped the seafood omelette onto a plate and handed it to Blake.

Then they heard a wincing sound come from the hallway. Sun came limping into the room, clutching his chest.

“Sun, what did I tell you about getting out of bed?” Blake chastised.

Sun slowly lowered himself into a kitchen chair. “Not to do it unless I was ridiculously high on pain medication. I remember.”

Blake took two bottles of pills out of a cabinet and slammed them in front of Sun, who groaned once he saw them.

Ruby giggled. “Come on, Sun. Pain meds are a huntsman’s best friend. Other than Zwei. Zwei will always be better than pain meds.”

“Zwei  _ is _ pain medication,” Yang added. “All your hurties disappear when you have a fluffy dog to cuddle with.”

“Words cannot describe how much I hate this conversation,” Blake said, eliciting a laugh out of everyone else.

Yang finally sat down to eat her own omelette. “So, what are both of you planning on doing after this exciting adventure?” she asked, addressing Sun and Ruby.

Sun closed the caps of the pill bottles. “I think I’m gonna head back to Mistral and see if I can get any missions with my full team. Sage is probably healed up by now, so now I’m the only missing piece.” He downed three pills to numb the pain.

“I’ll probably go back to doing missions,” Ruby said.

Yang rolled her eyes. “Of course you will.”

“What? I’m a huntress! That’s my job!”

Yang shoved her omelette plate away. “Do you realize that it has been three years since we saw each other face-to-face? I think you have an addiction to missions.”

“That’s not true!”

“Really? What’s the last time you spent time at home where you weren’t packing for your next mission?”

“Well-” Ruby stopped herself when she realized she didn’t have a good answer for that.

Yang looked at Blake, but still addressed Ruby. “I think you know that sometimes we need to slow down. Take a break, have at least a night to yourself.”

Blake entered the conversation. “Don’t let yourself destroy yourself. It’s not worth it.”

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when the words didn’t come.

Then Sun chimed in. “Hey, maybe you could spend time with your nieces? Y’know, now that they’re not kidnapped or in mortal danger.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Ruby said. “It’s nice that the family is back together again.”

Blake looked around the room. She saw Yin and Moon watching cartoons. She saw Ruby playing with her fork. She saw Sun becoming increasingly drowsy from pain meds. She saw Yang leaning on her elbow in contemplation. And she realized for the first time that her family was really okay.

“Yeah,” Blake said with a smile and kissed her wife. “Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a heck of a ride! You guys have helped me feel confident enough to continue posting this, and I thank you for that!
> 
> We'll make it to 120 kudos if 8 more people kudo this story. Come on, guys, we can make it!
> 
> So this story has ended. Everyone is happy, if not a little sore, (sorry, Sun). I'm glad that you guys joined me for this, but don't despair. This universe is far from done.
> 
> Keep an eye out for the next story, The Mother! ;)


End file.
